The biggest question is whether Mike Glennon, who ended last season as the starting quarterback, is a fit for what Smith and Tedford want. Smith said Glennon hasn’t proven yet that he’s a franchise quarterback, and that means the Bucs are on the lookout for a veteran to sign.

“To say right now that Mike is the answer and he’s our quarterback of the future and we’re going to build around him and give him a 20-year contract, we’re not there,” Smith said. “I like him as one of our quarterbacks right now, but we’re going to have at least four in camp and at least one [veteran] will be in the mix. And then you just let it all play out.”

Smith’s comments suggest that the Bucs will have to be big players when free agency starts tomorrow.

What system is that the one where u been avg for ur whole career with one lucky run to super bowl
U mean that system
Well bucs have a superbowl without ur system
A coach should be able to get the best out of any1
Or any system thats called Coaching

bleedgreen says:Mar 10, 2014 8:09 AM

Why not Glennon? Is he not backupy enough for Lovie? He rolled with Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Craig Krenzel, Todd Collins and Caleb Hanie for how long?

scoops1 says:Mar 10, 2014 8:10 AM

Bye-Bye Revis…..

flmike says:Mar 10, 2014 8:15 AM

Welcome to being a Bucs fan. We wasted 5 seasons because Gruden’s ego was so ginormous that he had to destroy a franchise to prove how smart he was…he and his supposed “CAP MASTER” Bruce Allen left the Bucs in Cap Hell, and with the cupboards bare when they left, was Raheem the right hire, heck no, but he was cheap, was Dominik the right GM, no but again he was cheap, the Glazers were on the hook for millions when they fired both Gruden and Allen. All these issues take time to iron out, especially when you hire the wrong people. Am I happy with Lovie, F NO, but he’s what I got now. Go Bucs….

I always thought Lovie was a pretty uninspiring hire. Yeah he was consistent, he made the playoffs 1 every 3 years despite never really having crappy teams, but thats pretty boring. And that was when the NFC North was crap. The NFC South is behind only the NFC West in terms of difficulty.

I hope Lovie learned from his mistakes because if he didn’t its gonna be a long while before the Bucs are relevant again. His failure means (yet another) rebuidl.

Lovie needs to quit acting like personnel matters. He had 9 years to set the offensive side of the ball up in Chicago, yet he fired offensive coordinator after offensive coordinator. His offenses are consistently mediocre no matter what personnel or coordinator he has. Lovie seems like he is unable to adapt.

Rex is our QB – this was his mantra. Rex Grossman, not the worst QB whoever played, but….

Alex Archuleta – nice guy, overpaid him millions, he was a Lovie guy.

This will be the first wave of players he brings aboard….just giving away Cap Space.

It’s hard not to watch a train wreck…..

packerfansarefat says:Mar 10, 2014 8:57 AM

Good luck Tampa. Although we in Minnesota loved Frazier as a man….his “tampa two” defense is shredded on a routing basis. It’s unfortunate…where the defense once built it’s name…it will likely see it’s last days….

I knew Lovie’s excuses would be coming, but I didn’t expect them THIS early. Terrible hire. The Bucs fans should get used to no playoffs and these three statements:

1. We just didn’t make enough plays to win the game.
2. There is a lot of football left to be played.
3. ___________________ is our quarterback.

steelerdeathstar says:Mar 10, 2014 9:06 AM

If this is so, Smith would seem like a puzzling hire for TB?
As a rookie in a tough situation last year, Glennon’s TD/INT was 19-9, and they were competitive and won some games with him as the season went on. Seems like as a new HC, you’d be pretty thankful to have a young QB like that, and be talking more about building around him than you would bringing in competition for him. The hubris and cloudy thinking of some of these NFL coaches never ceases to amaze…

Lovie does not neeed a QB and when he has one he does not know how to use him. “who needs offense when you have a great defense?”
________________________________

The SuberBowl pretty much confirms your sarcasm. Great defense embarrassed an “all-world, greatest of all time” QB. Solid run game, QB who doesn’t turn the ball over, and swarm to the ball defense – wins championships.

In case you’re counting, that’s two times in the past few years that the “Greatest Offense in the History of the NFL”, let by Future, first ballot HOF Qb’s got beat by good (not all time, record-setting) defenses.

So, sarcasm aside, a great defense and a game-managing QB will get you a SB. Lovie’s formula is actually pretty smart.

Lovie’s system is to have 25 guys who are only good for special teams, so the Bucs will have zero appreciable depth at any position, but they will all be undersized and athletic, so they can pull hammys and get steamrolled by physical teams like the Panthers in their division…

Giving him personnel control just undid all the work the Bucs have done in the last few years to at least get a good mix of talent on the roster.

It’s not his fault for the last 5 years we were blessed to have the great Raheem Morris and Greg Schiano with the mastermind Mark Dominick running the show. So what exactly has this current roster gotten us?

Coaches that demand that the players fit their system are not very good coaches at all. Scheme should always be dictated by talent.

brettfavresmidget says:Mar 10, 2014 9:44 AM

Jimmy Graham is shocked and disappointed.

uncletuna says:Mar 10, 2014 9:45 AM

Translation: It’s not my fault…

That whole generational group-think has put this country in the toilet…

Real coaches win immediately…

Arians, Payton, Kelly – that’s your coaches that get it done…

Well, at least we know the Bucs are gonna be what they are for three more years…

celly84 says:Mar 10, 2014 9:55 AM

steelerdeathstar says: Mar 10, 2014 9:06 AM

“As a rookie in a tough situation last year, Glennon’s TD/INT was 19-9, and they were competitive and won some games with him as the season went on. Seems like as a new HC, you’d be pretty thankful to have a young QB like that, and be talking more about building around him than you would bringing in competition for him. ”
—————-

Thats what happens if you just look at the stats. His stats make him look much better than he was when he played. Think about it. Even with those stats, we still went 4-12. Will he be a good backup? Sure. Can Tedford get the most out of him and lead us to where we need to be? Time will only tell.

Lovie, if you didn’t walk into a franchise in 2004 that ALREADY had Briggs, Urlacher, Tillman, etc…your defense would have looked like a joke. And you would have never lasted the 9 years that you should have NEVER been there.

if only we all had a job we could make that statement during our annual review, his 90 day probationary period is not even up yet and already making excuses. Bad hire & just another coordinator that head coach spot is over his head.

6ball says:Mar 10, 2014 10:05 AM

Lovie Smith is a defensive coordinator, like Romeo Center, like Wade Phillips, like Dick Lebeau, like Marvin Lewis, like Rex Ryan……

Wish the Glazers would sell this team, for the good of the Tampa Bay area. If we get enough votes on a petition, could we force them to sell the team and relocate to London?

metalhead65 says:Mar 10, 2014 10:26 AM

welcome to the world of mediocrity bucs fans. those 9-7 records will seem great the first 2 years after the lousy years you have gone through, but get used to them because that is pretty much what you can expect under lovie. he has no clue when it comes to offense, it will be in Glennon’s best interests to get as far away from tampa and lovie as possible. he needs to play for a coach who run a system that fits his strengths not the other way around. Cutler was one of the best young qb’s in the game untill he played for lovie. it is like he watched the tape of what he did with the broncos and said sorry we do not do that here.

The tone of his statements are just awful. I will admit, I was in favor of bringing Lovie to Tampa. Still am until I see what he puts on the field or Vick is on the team. But 3 things are making my stomach turn a little here.

1. Mike Vick, No way, I’ll become a Dolphins fan.

2. Not getting behind Glennon, sorry this kid came into a VERY ugly situation last season and made things happen. Give him some protection, weapons, and some support and he will be a beast, a freaking blind man can see that.

3. Not even into free agency and “I didn’t build this team.” NONSENSE has already begun? Now I am afraid. Unbelievable.

Lovie was beneficiary of good talent in Chicago. When that dried up so did he. The Bucs obviously do not have a GM if Lovie is picking the players, just like he did in Chicago and the Bucs suck aleady, they are heading for Jaguar territory now.

floriosbigtoe says:Mar 10, 2014 10:40 AM

Vick? Yea right. McCown? Now that’s more Lovie’s speed.

mogogo1 says:Mar 10, 2014 10:42 AM

Good news is it is unlikely they can play worse than their uniforms will look. Bad news is they could probably go winless for a decade and still not be worse than the uniforms look.

Get ready for Lovie and the outdated tampa 2 that blows big leads in the final 2 minutes. Lovie is a good coach but not a great coach. His personnel has to adapt to HIS system. The guy made the playoffs twice in his 8 years in Chicago. The rest of the time Lovie seemed content with mediocrity, how else do you explain the 7-9 and 8-8 seasons. Lovie is crappy at picking personnel and was saved by Ron Rivera who he let go because he wanted his yes man Bob Babich running the defense. Good luck TB.

Great coach , won 10 plus games and got fired, what a joke that was , and the team end up WORSE..lmao, Not to mention he did took them to a superbowl which they had no business being in with that guy as QB,,.You are not accomplishing those stuff if you don’t know what you are doing, Btw ..the post saying he is not the GM ,

Newsflash when you are the COOK it helps in working together to make sure you have the right ingredients.No different than if we MOVE into a NEW house the changes to our liking we would want.

chad504boy says:Mar 10, 2014 11:35 AM

Maybe Lovie should curve his system that suits his players just a little bit.

i think new bucs leadership is making a mistake on glennon. i think a few teams would be very interested in trading for him.

last yr was an absolute train wreck for the bucs, between schiano, freeman and glennon. and by the end of the season, glennon had stabilized and looked pretty good. 13 starts. 59.4 % completions, 2608 passing yards, 19 tds, 9 picks. took 40 sacks though.

these are not bad numbers AT ALL for a rookie who was thrust into service under those dysfunctional conditions. personally i really the 19/9 td/int ratio.

Lovie smith is a qb guru since when? He’s had some of the most anemic offenses in the modern football era. He wants to set up more of a failure offense. Wonder why this fool didn’t get a job for the Issa couple if years. He needs medication for his delusional mindset

This is overblown. The Bucs’ biggest problem is they have too many players who aren’t a fit for any system. I doubt there are any players good enough to start for other teams that Lovie is complaining about. Davin Joseph stinks no matter what system he’s in.

What up Coach Buzzkill? We have the best rookie QB in the entire league and you poo-poo on one of our only bright spots last year. May I be the first to say, “Fire Lovie Smith” There, how do you like it?

swampcannons says:Mar 10, 2014 3:28 PM

A funny thing occurred to me when reading all the trollers’ lame comments. Lovie is gone from Chicago yet they still suck, and arguably worse than before. How can that be?!

I’m a Chicago Bears guys and know quite a bit about Lovie Smith. He’s usually very guarded in his statements, sometimes to a fault. He’s very well known for not ever publicly criticizing his players. And one of his most (in)famous quotes in Chicago was; “Rex Grossman is our quarterback”. This after every terrible turnout by Sexy Rexy.

What I’m saying is, Smith must not like what he’s seen of Glennon at all, for him to make that kind of statement.

evansvc says:Mar 10, 2014 9:49 PM

GM/Coach, sit down and talk to this guy…I think he can help…..
There are a lot worse QBs on NFL rosters that has never had the success Vince Young has had …(NFL Rookie of the Year, 2 Pro Bowls, Playoff experience and Mobility). Vince has a career winning record of 31-19…
I hope he gets another chance even if it’s third string…

Why the Lovie hate? He has a SB appearance with Rex Grossman as QB, his teams are competitive every year and he went 29-19 over the last 3 seasons.
Here are the last 3 seasons of some other HC candidates.
Jon Gruden 22-26
Tom Cable 17-27
Ken Wisenhunt 18-30
Norv Turner 24-24
At least the Bucs should be respectable.